Here is a feature/interview on the American Black/Thrash/Rock 'n' Roll band MAAX that was originally posted on the Terrorizer magazine website in an edited format. Here is the full unedited feature. Great band , support them!

"I used to come across a lot of great new music via Myspace but in recent times have found myself getting to hear more and more great new bands via sites such as Reverbnation, Youtube and Facebook. This is one such band who have caught my attention via another medium since the Myspace boom imploded on itself and people aswell as bands have been seeking other ways in which to share and promote music to people in the wider world. Someone posted about these guys on their Facebook page so I hit the link provided and was met with what can be best described as black evil heavy metal rock' n roll, bands such as Bewitched(Swe), early Bathory, Motorhead, Venom, later Dark Throne were used to describe this bands sound and that description hit the nail on the head pretty much as they basically do sound like an explosive musical molotov cocktail of said bands.
They have been around for a few years now but I will focus on the awesomely named "Six Pack Witchcraft" EP and the upcoming debut album "Unholy Rock 'n' Roll" which is due to be dropped like a musical bomb upon the metal scene in the not too distant future via Abyss Records who have also been responsible for unleashing some of the bands other releases. The first song I heard was the title track off the 5 track EP "Six Pack Witchcraft" (how can you possibly go wrong with a song called that?!) released in 2010 and within the first couple of riffs they had me hooked....line and sinker!. Fans of all of the bands I have mentioned in comparison will not be disappointed by what this band delivers musically. I wanted to find out more about what makes this band tick and delve deeper into the world of Maax so fired off some questions and here is the little interview with Kyle Kreider (Guitar).

Hails! Please give a background history on the band and who does what in the band?

Kyle Maax- Maax formed in the winter of 07' from the debris of another long running metal institution formed in 99'. We consolidated down to a three piece Sky Kingrey/bass/vocals Kyle Kreider/guitars ,and James "Jeff" Brown/drums which became the "Dawnbringer" sessions. The early onset of Maax was a decidedly more Black Metal and "Dawnbringer" was just that with a very cult vibe,we just kind of "went with it" as we were writing the album it was an exciting time but this lineup was short lived as Sky Kingrey had to relocate his life making a regular band rehearsal impossible. Meanwhile "Dawnbringer" was garnering allot of interest internationally and we were on the prowl for new blood to keep the band alive as we are very much a live band. Scouring the local band scene for willing participants was nothing short of difficult until Brett Schlagel rang my cell phone one day and said "hey man,heard your looking for a bass player" followed up by "I got the bass and I got the skill!" (laughs) Most confident thing I've heard out of anyone's mouth who inquired about the position,how could I say no....We knew Brett to be a talented guitar player so we figured he probably knew his way around the bass as well,rocket science is not a factor in our metal anyway! We began writing for the "Six Pack Witchcraft" EP immediately,most of the riffs and structures we had laying around since the Dawnbringer sessions so we had plenty of fuel and passion to rejuvenate this beast. Mean while I was corresponding with a long time friend of the band Tim Green who had jammed in some previous musical endeavors of mine and at this time was still enlisted in the US military and stationed in Iraq for the second or third time.
He expressed interest in joining a band as a vocalist when he returned home,the planets just kind of aligned and he started rehearsals shortly after his return home. We actually had enough material to make "Six Pack" a full length album but some of the other songs were missing a few ingredients here and there so we just recorded the five you have on the "Six Pack" EP with this lineup Tim Green/vox,Brett Schlagel/bass,Kyle Kreider/guitar,and Jeff Brown/drums. It turned out to be an excellent choice for Maax,after releasing the EP on Abyss Records we made an executive decision to move Brett into a second guitar position in the band,the guy is a natural guitar player! This brought much to be desired to the writing process and gave new life to the songs left over from the "Six Pack" sessions,now we were able to incorporate lead guitar pieces and layer the rhythm sections for bigger sounding choruses and hooks but we still remain dirty and mean sounding,This gave Brett his opportunity to flourish as the guitar player he is but left a void once again on the bass front. After exhausting my resources in looking for "bass" guitarists I swtched my efforts and asked some guitar players I knew if they would be interested in playing bass for Maax and that turned out to be easier (laughs) and landed Maax the best bass guitarist to date in Jeremy Starkey current bass player and stckler for tightness! Jeremy is also resident guitarist in long standing Indiana death metal institution Necrophagous we knew each other and our bands have gigged together for years so he already knew what Maax was all about. We have written and recorded our follow up full length to the "Six Pack" EP with this current lineup as well.

You have a debut album "Unholy Rock 'n' Roll" coming out soon via Abyss Records, tell the readers about this album in your own words and what they can expect from it?

Kyle Maax- Unholy Rock & Roll is full on Maax,it is what the title implies! The songs are a bit bigger,more hooks,catchy choruses,big lead guitar pieces but the intensity and "Fuck You" attitude remain,the beastial attack is still ever present and I know this word is taboo around here but the record is fun in a piss drunk and slutty kinda way it's the sonic equivalent to a bunch of pissed off bikers having a good rape and pillage! It's fun to play and takes a lot of pressure off in the live setting. It's unapologetic heavy metal!

My first introduction to the band was tracks from your "Six Pack Witchcraft" EP, to me it sounds like equal parts Bewitched, Venom, old Bathory and Motorhead? Is this release still available? What has the overall response been like to it?

Kyle Maax- The response to "Six Pack" has been great for us,we still continue to cover alot of ground with this EP. The EP has had a mixed bag of reviews mostly dogging the production value of it but we kinda wanted the "demo" sounding prduction on it but in hindsight we wish that we could have taken a little more time on the production of "Six Pack" but damn! This EP drives it home and packs one hell of a punch! All the influence mentioned above can be heard on this EP that is fair to say. Six Pack Witchcraft is still available on Abyss Records www.officialabyssrecords.com and now on Sound Pollution (SWE)

Your debut album "Dawnbringer" (which I have yet to hear still) came out in 2009, is this album in the same style as the EP and new album material?

Kyle Maax- "Dawnbringer" is a much colder BM record with a very "aggro" cult vibe to it. We had began to write the thrashier black and roll driven stuff during this time and some of those songs carried over to the next sessions but we wrote "Dawnbringer" with a bit of a different mindset and a definate BM direction here,our new material has obviously evolved into what it is now due to our approach in song writing being a bit different and much more cohesive but our current sound was taking place and being formulated during the "Dawnbringer" sessions, our intentions remain the same.

What bands shape and fuel the sound of Maax? What literally possessed you to play such music?

Kyle Maax- Heavy Metal! It's hard to be band specific or even album specific,I think allot of our metal comes from obvious influences growing up with American heavy metal and thrash and British heavy metal being an obvious component especially now with the big guitar solos and the rock "Motorhead" vibe...punk,BM,DM it's all there in some form or another but bands like Crue,and priest taught us how to write and structure a song properly and bands like Celtic Frost and Venom taught us how to be evil and primitive with a 90's wave of Black Metal influence you get what Maax has become in a nutshell...Maax is unrestrained unapologetic heavy fuckin' metal!

Do you play out live often? Much planned gig wise for rest of this year?

Kyle Maax- Yes we gig on a regular basis and the metal fest circuit has really taken notice of Maax we have quite a few big dates/festivals here in America planned Central Illinois Metalfest and The Gore Growlers Ball in San Antonio this year to name a few,things happen on a daily basis and the new record should bring more opportunities and hopefully some international opportunities! Our current location in the US fucking sucks as far as gigs are concerned though,it's very cut throat and thats a shame.

I know you have done a Celtic Frost cover, any other covers in your aural artillery? Do you play any live?

Kyle Maax- Hahaha yes we have covered or "Maaxed" everything from Grim Reaper to Billy Idol!

Why the name Maax?

Kyle Maax It is pronounced (May-axe). The name Maax will be synonymous with the words Heavy and Metal! It's a mystery,it's an 80's thing (laughs).

Please tell us about your local underground scene, what bands can you recommend to the readers?

Kyle Maax- My pleasure! I recommend Legion and Necrophagous, two of my favorite local Death Metal bands since the early 90's on a broader scale we have The Gates Of Slumber,Demericous,Radiation Sickness for some good Indianapolis based bands.

What other bands are members of Maax involved with? Please tell us about them

Kyle Maax- Everyone is full on Maax except Jeremy Starkey is involved with Necrophagous (mentioned)

OK the last words are yours, thanks for the interview, where can people buy/hear your music?!

Kyle Maax- Thanks very much for interviewing me and your interest in Maax! You can purchase our music as well as merch @ www.officialabyssrecords.com and we have our first two releases on Itunes however I do not encourage downloading please get the CD or records to listen too,it's a fucking shame no one buys hard copies of shit anymore and metal has always been proud of old school traditions so do yourselves and the bands a favor and buy their shit! Also get your asses out to some shows and support what we do! Maax 2011

Evighetens Dårar is Torture Division’s second compilation, and its constituent parts were a series of demos issued over the last year (which can be downloaded from their website). The band is formed of current and ex members of several leading Swedish death metal bands (among them Grave, Entombed, and the Project Hate MCMXCIX). Stylistically, they play Swedish death metal with some moderate death/grind influence. It’s a style of music that has seen thousands of interpretations, but fortunately Torture Division are skilled enough as songwriters to both stand out and be worth your precious time. Each of these nine songs (discounting “the Axe Murderer”, a jokey ten-second grindfart) is unique, catchy, memorable and interesting. At 28 minutes, Evighetens Dårar is concise. The lyrics mostly tread familiar ground (torture, brutal sex, war), although “Ravishing Rampage Sluts” (yeah, really) pays homage to Acid Bath and Cannibal Corpse fairly cleverly.

Dan Swanö)))’s mix on these songs is as close to perfect as I’ve heard on any modern release. It’s rare to have a mixer (and producer?) who does so much for the material, but here he deserves special mention. The two examples I’d give are the beginning of “Eld Och Plågor”, which just curb stomps the listener with its heaviness, and the end of “Overtorture”, which is a perfect representation of the Swedish spirit.

Albums (fine, compilations) like Evighetens Dårar are why I’m glad I’m a music critic. The chance to be exposed to new, awesome music is one of the best things in my life. Since it’s free, you ought to expose yourselves to it too. It’s pay what you want, but if you’re like me, you’ll download it for free and then buy the CD.

The release of Frostlands Tapes coincided with the band's 21st anniversary. It is the first official release to contain all four of Darkthrone’s demos.

Frostland Tapes includes a live recording from Denmark in 1990 and the previously unreleased instrumental version of the 1991 Goatlord rehearsal session.

These songs were intended to feature on the proposed second album, before the band changed direction and the tapes were confined to the vaults. Vocals were subsequently added in the mid-nineties and this version became the Goatlord album (1996), but they are presented here as the recording sounded in 1991.
The set comes in a rigid digibook featuring an interview with the band, chronicling their early days, ambitions and inspirations.

A very powerful production of the Norwegian band Fester.Doom metal riffs and death metal growls in this savagery art performance,there are a few changes in the riffs but the tracks are constructed very well, it keeps your attention until the end of the cd,the guitar sound is awesome ,nasty and raw along with the the vocals,in fact that match with the band's sound,the production has paid attention to the guitars so that offer a very solid sound.In general this album left me a very good taste and i think it's worth listenting to it .Another great release of Abyss records!

THE GARDNERZ is a Swedish band and here we have their first album based on typical death/doom metal, slow and brutal!
The band’s music is inspired from groups-legends that built the death metal’s legacy back in 90’s. Paradise Lost (“Lost Paradise” season), early Anathema and My Dying Bride and a small taste of American death metal scene (Nocturnus) are the ingredients of this release. The production is as it should be, creating a nostalgic atmosphere, the vocals are brutal enough and the guitars sound like a swamp! “Lady In The Grave” is a track perfectly written and “Incident” and “Born to consume” are no less the same thing. It is obvious that the lads feel their music in a way that results to a really true and emotional album.
A sense of nostalgia remains as the CD comes to an end, for sure not something new in the genre, but something that is more than respectful. For the death metal fans that their best albums were recorded since 1995 this one is a diamond! Slowly we rot…

"Ra-Hoor-Khuit" is the first item on the EP is a sort of intro to a little over a minute long, fully air that precedes the first lashes of "Nihil", "ad Inferus descensus" and "Bring Me Sacrifice ".
Both are rich with a battery composition and constant double bass accompanied by a sweeping and aggressive voice and torn, the issues you pass in an instant. The same is true of "Noctis Imperium," a short and straightforward theme gives way to the good version of "Maze of Torment" MORBID ANGEL's legendary. This version is also recorded live and puts an end to the EP, but before that, a couple of cuts: "Unus in Nihil" and the live version of "Through Fire and Cosmos."

In conclusion, a very good EP that serves to whet your appetite for what will be his debut work of these Venezuelan NOCTIS IMPERIUM.

Rating: 9/10

This review was originally written in Spanish and has been translated using Google Translate. To view the original review in Spanish click the link below.

Brett Schlagel and Kyle Kreider of Maax talk about Unholy Rock & Roll, best advice from other bands, the music scene in the Midwest, and more

By Kimberly Brown

Only one year after the release of their Six Pack Witchcraft EP, MAAX, (pronounced May-Axe), is back with their second full length, Unholy Rock & Roll. This Indianapolis based 5-piece takes no prisoners and delivers the rock n roll metal that many bands promise but few can deliver. Unholy Rock N Roll is consistent booze infused biker rock that demands your attention. Speed and urgency, chugging doom, gruff growling vocals, evil lyrics… this band is metal to their core. MAAX forges their own sound of 80’s metal infused with an unapologetic black metal that makes you want to go out, get drunk, and start fights.

The bands latest album, Unholy Rock & Roll, is old school influenced with so much passion in it. If you were writing the review of this album what would you say? What bands would you put under the “sounds like” section?

BRETT: If I were to review my own album I’d have to give it a 5 out of 5, but then again it’d be a biased review anyways! So, with that kept in mind, I’d say Unholy Rock & Roll is MAAX’s best album thus far and leaves the listener wanting more dirty old school black and roll. The album definitely brings forth the true musicianship of the members with a cleaner production than the previous EP, Six Pack Witchcraft. You can hear everything note for note. Bigger choruses, bigger riffs, bigger solos, and that hell-raising-beer-chugging-sleaze-injected-Luciferian-biker swagger that bares its ugly teeth through the overall package keeps our listeners on their toes with their devil horns in the air while chanting line for line in the faces of the metalhead in the pit beside them.

KYLE: Unholy Rock & Roll is exactly what the title implies. It’s hard to pin us down as to what exactly we sound like I guess. The genre bending is too much for some folks/listeners but at the same time our sound is unmistakably unapologetic and unrestrained heavy fuckin’ metal!

BRETT: If MOTORHEAD, MOTLEY CRUE, CELTIC FROST, and VENOM had an ugly ass mole-faced love child that had an uncontrollable lust for sluts, booze, motorcycles, and the Devil… it’s name would be MAAX.

KYLE: Sounds like hell! Old school new wave British heavy metal meets Appetite For Destruction, played by VENOM with some crusty punk a la DARKTHRONE.

What are the concepts behind, Unholy Rock & Roll? How did the writing and recording process go?

BRETT: Unholy Rock & Roll is about the four main elements that make this shit-fuck of a world turn: booze, bitches, bikes, and of course good ol’ Satan. The album maintains a perfect balance of all four key elements. Writing was an extensive process. We knew what we wanted and we weren’t stopping until we achieved just that. That isn’t just to say for the album just as itself, each song had weeks and some even months of time invested into tweaking each aspect of the tracks to be just so. After we wrote a song we would ask ourselves, “What would Lucifer put this on his iPod’s playlist while out terrorizing the local nunnery on his Harley?”

KYLE: We just pounded it out at band rehearsal night after night and some of the songs on URR were around during our debut, Dawnbringer. We just never committed those songs to tape because of the “difference” in the material. Dawnbringer was a more full throttle black metal album and the following EP, Six Pack Witchcraft, started to find the newer sound emerging and we still kept a few of the tracks back for Unholy; “Black Thrash Em’ All,” and the title track, “Unholy Rock & Roll.” Those early versions of said tracks were written during the MAAX mark one era.

BRETT: We really tapped into our 80’s riff locker on this album. We all have our influences and it really shines through on URR. We wanted that 80’s feel but didn’t want to stray to far from our roots in black metal either, so here you have a solid black and roll full- length.

KYLE: Brett and myself are big old school metal fans and old school sounding riffs are like second nature to us so having Brett in the second guitar seat on this record you can hear how our collaboration really took shape. It was a very natural progression and I think that envelope could be pushed even further in the context of our particular fashion of Ax’ and Roll!

BRETT: We are a live band and all though the record has a polished and cleaner production quality we still wanted to maintain that live and in-your-face feel. We recorded it live in the studio with the exception of the leads and vocals. If we fucked up we did it again, no questions asked. Jeff Montgomery of Ensomberoom really helped us achieve that production sound we were looking for.

KYLE: I’m of the MOTORHEAD thought process on the recording of albums; I like to do as much as possible live.

What is the best advice you’ve received from another band?

BRETT: “Get it in writing.” This could possibly be the greatest piece of advice around for a musician. There isn’t anything quite like being guaranteed a large sum of money and after you’re done playing the event coordinator takes off with the door money, the raffle money for the custom guitars, and the guitars, thus leaving you stranded 2000 miles from home! Sometimes writing still isn’t enough no matter how well you are prepared. Unfortunately there are people out there who make a living fucking someone else and I’m not talking about porn. A pay-to-play is not an uncommon thing when you are dealing with huge headliners. One time in particular a pay-to-play gig came about with a major act, after meeting with the three men in business suits representing the promotional company and the one rep from the managing agency. We signed our contracts, paid our cash, and were handed our pre-sale tickets. We even contacted the major act’s tour manager to be sure they were booked and the deposit had been paid. Long story short these people used fake names, throw away prepaid phones, and fronted the deposit to the big act to score a briefcase full of cash estimated at about $12k and disappeared.

KYLE: Work smarter not harder, and always get it in writing. We have all had to go through the trials and tribulations of being a young band or taking that gamble that ultimately blows up in your face but I’ve also learned with any amount of success you achieve things hardly change.

What are the best and worst things about your hometown, Indianapolis? Music and non-music related.

BRETT: This scene is tapped…I mean drier than a nun’s cunt. There aren’t many opportunities around here that offer anything promising. Yeah we will play local pubs here and there but half the time the only people promoting the show is us. What happened to the street teams that would wallpaper a side of a building with fliers? We have to travel if we want anything worthwhile.

KYLE: There are always small pockets of fans who genuinely enjoy what you do but it a scene like Indianapolis where the majority of Metal fans are in bands themselves so you get a clique and we’ve never been “cool” enough to get involved in their loop or gig cycle, if it were not for Dan Ferguson (Abyss Records) Indianapolis would not be on our radar. Having said that there are some amazing metal bands/musicians in that town and collaborative projects pop up all the time. In my town there are food joints and more food joints, or major shopping chains. The local music scene is one I’d rather not even comment on. Let’s just say it’s a hit and miss and I’m a cynical asshole! There are some great pubs though and we have had many a good time and some of our best local gigs at The Heorot Pub And Draught House.

BRETT: The only highlight about this place is food. If you are hungry DON’T WORRY we got your sandwich-loving ass covered! Not much to do or see unless you like to eat or shop for useless shit. If you’re into getting asked for change 50 fucking times by the same guy outside the bar then come on over, he won’t be going anywhere for a while.

Did you find that it was harder to get noticed being from the Midwest? Did the band have to travel to larger cities, like Chicago or Detroit, where music was more accessible and more shows were happening?

BRETT: The Midwest is a tough place to conquer, being in the “Bible Belt” bullshit and all. You know those Christian protesting fucks who if you fart in too high of a pitch you are going to burn in the everlasting firey pits of Hell. We got them here. They don’t realize we already have reservations in room 666 right next door to Aleister Crowley. However, Dan Ferguson of Abyss Records in Indianapolis found us and it has been a great relationship ever since. He does a lot for us and always manages to make it out to shows, spite his busy schedule with the other bands on the label, his online label site and store, as well as family life.

KYLE: Even in those bigger cities the exposure and success rate of a gig are a hit and miss Midwest speaking that is Maax has yet to tap the West Coast or even the East Coast extensively yet.

Who were your biggest influences when growing up that planted the musical seed in you?

BRETT: There were many. If I had to narrow it down to 3 (which is really hard to do by the way!) I’d have to say DEF LEPPARD’S, High and Dry, JUDAS PRIEST’S, Defenders of Faith, and OZZY’S, Diary of a Madman, are the three most influential albums for me. I remember watching metal videos late at night on MTV (when they played music) and seeing the “larger than life” aspect that came with 80’s metal and wanting to be a part of it so bad I nearly shit my Mr. T footie pajamas. My dad played guitar and showed me the basics, from there I learned every metal riff I could and started diving into heavier music until I found black metal and nested myself in the comfort of frost bitten vocals and guitar badassery.

KYLE: I was lucky enough to at least be old enough to witness and pay attention to the 80′s. 1987 in particular was where it all started for me musically, Headbangers Ball on MTV was good back then so I got a great mixture of Thrash and Hair metal from that and my mom bought me a TWISTED SISTER, Stay Hungry LP, and it was all over from there. That’s what I spent my allowance on every week, a new cassette tape or record. Gene Simmons (KISS), OZZY OSBOURNE, and JUDAS PRIEST were taboo with the older folks so of course I had to have it. Thanks to Geraldo Rivera and 80′s daytime talk shows and crappy segments on heavy metal and Satanism I found SLAYER and progressively got heavier as I matured into the fledgling maniac of metal today!

What was the music scene like in Indiana when you were growing up? What are MAAX’S favorite bands to play from the area?

BRETT: Back in the day people would actually leave their couch to come to a show and buy merch! It used to be band flier city on the weekends. Everyone supported everyone. Brothers helping brothers. Today it seems to be a little more cutthroat and promoting is strictly through online social networking. If MySpace or Facebook hadn’t come into the picture people wouldn’t be glued to their computer screens waiting to see if Joe Dicksinmouth likes the comment you left on his picture of the dog with the sunglasses. Although it does have its advantages. The internet doesn’t come without downfalls elsewhere. You can do everything from home now so why go out when you can hide behind your screen and a picture of you six years ago when you were 150 pounds skinnier.

KYLE: The 90′s were cool locally. There was a gig of some sort every night and more heavy bands at the time. We really don’t have much of a choice there are only two “extreme” metal bands in our area and we get along splendidly.

BRETT: LEGION and NECROPHAGOUS are both favorites of MAAX and are definitely worth looking into!

What was the first band shirt you ever got?

KYLE: MOTLEY CRUE, Dr. Feelgood, shirt with the Aleister Fiend thing on it! Damn I must have had an arsenal of CRUE shirts!

How did everyone in MAAX come together? When and why did you want to make music together? What dynamics does each member bring to the band?

BRETT: MAAX formed from the ashes of another band known as DYNGYR (pronounced Die-in-gear). Kyle Krieder, Jeff Brown, and Sky Kingery collaborated on MAAX in the beginning of it all and spread the foundations for what MAAX has become today. Kyle, Jeff, and Sky wrote and recorded, Dawnbringer, together. Shortly after the album was released, Sky left to pursue other endeavors in his life. This left both the vocals and bass positions open. I (Brett Schlagel) gave Kyle a call upon hearing the news and told him, “I’ve got the bass and the skill,” and the next day I was MAAX’s new bass player. Tim Greene came into the picture just after I did with the vocals that sound like something from Hell itself… which fit us perfectly. After writing and recording, Six Pack Witchcraft, I traded the old bass in for a Les Paul and we started the makings of, Unholy Rock & Roll, with Jeremy Starkey of NECROPHAGOUS on bass. Unholy is a solid album with an even more solid line up. Just a few weeks before Unholy was to be released to the public Jeff Brown departed from MAAX to follow other endeavors as well. So what is a black metal band without a solid drummer? This is where Dave Dalton comes in. This guy is a machine and is one of the most incredible drummers I’ve yet to meet. Dave has been with Kyle, Tim, Jeremy, and I now for several months and I must say… MAAX is heavier than ever and is a hell of a force to be reckoned with. The next recordings are sure to drop jaws.

BRETT: Everyone is talented for sure, Kyle has a lot of knowledge in all things metal and knows his way around a fret board, Tim has that poisonous voice that was a gift that came with a return address to hell, Jeremy is one of the most solid bass players I’ve ever met and also has an extensive knowledge of everything from recording to bands’ history, Dave is fucking machine, this dude’s kicks never stop and never miss a beat, I’ve seen the contract he signed the Lucifer. I bring the leads and the same passion for the music we all share.

KYLE: I come with knowledge of all things metal and a beer gut to prove it! Oh yeah, and I play guitar!

MAAX had some major lineup changes in the beginning. Was it hard to adjust or do you feel like the current lineup is a solid one?

BRETT: The current line is more solid than ever. We had the proverbial “revolving door” for a minute but things evened out. Life happens and people have to move on to adjust to it. Roll with the punches per se.

What was the last band you saw live that really blew you away? Any new comers to the scene that you’d like readers to check out?

BRETT: MOTLEY CRUE never fails to impress and keep it as big of a show today as it was in the 80’s with flamethrowers, drumcoasters, mirror piano, and chicks…mmm, yes the chicks.

KYLE: GRAVEHILL! Our bros from Cali, and one to watch for sure!

BRETT: HOD from San Antonio is a band to keep your eye on, with an original member from THE MURDER JUNKIES. They are sure to put on an entertaining show while slaying forth killer riffage. Another band to look out for is THE HORDE from Illinois. Viking metal dudes that are talented fuck with badass tunes.

What has been MAAX’S biggest obstacle so far and how did the band overcome it?

BRETT: The biggest obstacle for MAAX is that we are…uh…economically challenged. There isn’t enough green stuff to go around in the original music world! We still have yet to figure that part out.

KYLE: Also geographically challenged and that’s where the economic challenge comes in effect, it takes a band literally over half if not all expenses to travel.

What can fans expect from MAAX in 2012?

BRETT: We are in the works of a 7” vinyl release and are currently writing for another possible full length. There were talks about releasing something in December 2012 but we didn’t want to be directly responsible for the apocalypse just yet.

KYLE: The Abyss Records website or our Facebook page for all updates on what the band is doing. We are planning on a single 7′ with a B side next featuring a new song called, “Midnight High” We are always in writing mode and plan on compiling some rehearsal demos as well for release on an undecided format yet. Maybe good old school cassette tape! Watch out for our METAL FOR THE DEVIL 2012!

When this nicely packaged digipack disc arrived I was expecting some filthy 90s death metal from Norway’s Fester. But having read the biography information it turns out these Norwegians were very atypical for the scene around at the time of original release in 1992, when the Norwegian black metal scene was in its full throe and reeling from various scandals within its own subculture of depravity and controversy.
You’d expect Fester to deliver some truly underground and gnarly death metal of Swedish variety with a name like Fester but no these guys tried to make a name for themselves by mixing up blackened metal traits with sludge like death metal but ultimately I suspect the band found it difficult to win fans when black metal was the thing at the time in Norway. The title track begins the album with what sounds like some dude walking through snow as some black metal like screams come forth as the song moves into a slow doom like pace that is fairly melodic and using a thin bass, though not as thin as said black metal scene.
Despite the album having been remastered the sound is still demo like in sound quality which is not a bad thing, purely an observation as “Senses Are The True You” takes on a death metal quality with a pace similar to Marduk’s “Dark Endless”. In fact this has similarities to many early black metal bands demo days when they were actually death metal before morphing (read as jumping on the bandwagon) into black metal. When listening to this it is important to remember when it was out and what was around at the time as “Winter Of Sin” was certainly off kilter with the rest of the scene and unique in its own way by blending black, death, doom and touches of thrash into their songs.
“Victory!!!” takes on a Dissection flavour even though Dissection’s debut was not out until a year after, but I’m sure you’ll see what I’m driving at when the band uses thrash riffing with some purely heavy metal rhythms. The songs are actually quite long giving the Dissection comparison more weight I guess though I did find the leads quite weak overall even for 1992 when you compare it to other notable releases of the time such as Asphyx’s “Last One On Earth”, At The Gates’ “The Red In The Sky Is Ours”, Enslaved’s “Yggdrasil” plus a wealth of other quality releases from the same year.
There is a doom like and even Sabbath like feel to “A Dogfight Leaves A Trace” being slow and dirge like but with the occasional changes of speed the song has plenty of variety. The studio output closes with “The Commitments That Shattered” and has a good riff in the background as the lead does its best to prove a point. I preferred this album when the leads were kept short to leave the crusty like riffing to demonstrate an occult like flavour that spreads through most of the album. The black metal style vocals often seem out of place but fit well with the bleak like atmosphere the band successfully created with this album. The album comes with a lengthy live track from their first demo in 1991 (“When Darkness Confirms”) and recorded live the same year. Surprisingly the sound is fairly clear and has little distortion and sounds as crude and raw as you would hope to expect from that time.
This is a minimalist death metal album with other influences from doom, black and straight heavy metal and gave this band a unique selling point at the time which was lost on the scene at the time. If you want to hear some truly authentic underground and claustrophobic death metal then this is worth hearing, but don’t expect pure black metal or a Swedeath sound.

Fractal marks the first full-length release from the Italian Death Metal act Humangled. While this album is far from anything all too original or jaw dropping, the music found on this release is instead just a great example of traditional Death Metal that is simple in nature, but executed quite well. Much of Fractal is designed to come off as rather simple. The guitars and drums presented here are just your typical hard hitting Death Metal-style music that doesn't really try to bring in some kind of combination from other genres to try to make some kind of impact. Instead, what you get is a solid performance that incorporates all of what makes Death Metal so great. Each song on here is essentially the same as far as the impact of the material goes. The guitars show some diversity throughout, but mostly try to stick to the sound that the song starts with and maintaining a standard chugging pace throughout, changing up where applicable, such as during the chorus, solo, and specific bridges, which helps to keep the album from getting too repetitive. However, the real drive of the album's musical direction seems to lie in the drumming, which is just constantly coming at you, and with exception to some slower moments that hit in the music, such as the case of "From Empty Pockets" near the middle of the song where it just slows down to a crawl for a few moments. This song is also the first one that you can really pinpoint the bass guitars easily, adding an additional layer to the music due to how important a role it has in progressing the music at certain moments, as well as actually having the guts to incorporate some cowbell. The additional cowbell, however, doesn't really do much outside of just being there near the end of the song. Of course, the vocal performance on the album is pretty standard as well. The style is a typical mix up of a higher pitched gutteral that can grow into a more rhaspier style when additional force is presented in the music, or just near a specific moment of the song, most notably the end.

There's nothing really all that necessary to be pointed out with this album, as each track does have it's own unique sound, but manages to flow nicely between one another. "Fruits of Abdomen" puts on an intense performance for the listener, and even incorporates two effects thrown into the background just for kicks, though it doesn't really do much for the song outside of sound cool, which is the case with the cowbell on "Infinitesimal" as already statred. "Liquidfire", however, is a pretty strong song that shines through due to the composition of the song and it's similarities to some bands such as Obituary thanks to it's more bouncy (but far from upbeat) chorus that will have your head banging throughout, as well as includes some clean spoken words near the end of the song that are only harmonized by the fact that they are wailing in the background, which does aid the vocalist a bit, but ultimately is just something else the feels tacked on, though it doesn't hurt having them put there in the end. Out of these songs, as well as the rest of the album, "Fruits of Abdomen" really comes off as the fastest track, as practically everything else on Fractal comes at the listener at a stead mid-pace with various moments of speed thrown in throughout certain tracks.

While the drums can often really push a song forward here, there are some tracks that really have some catchy guitars that are clearly meant to be the reason the song continues on the path it does. "Under the Root" is the perfect example of this thanks to the guitars being played here are clearly a little different compared to some of the tracks, actually having a slightly melodic Heavy Metal feel to the leads throughout it, but especially during the chorus of the song. The problem with this song, however, is that the guitars are a little louder then they probably should be and can sometimes feel like they are a bit too much, and the guitar solo is actually quite weak and sounds like the notes being played were done drunk, but not sloppy to the point where they come in too late and are noticable. It's mostly due to the chords being played and how they quite contradict with the music being played behind it. "Reversed Humans" is really the only song on this release that actually is not all that great. The song moves at a much slower pace then most, and incorporates a bit of mid-career Carcass into the mix, but seems to not quite have as much structure as winds up being a bit off the wall throughout and has inspirations from other bands thrown in with their sound that just collides with the listener in many ways. The track is still worth a listen, but after a few spins through, the song just won't last, and ultimately just sounds out of place with the rest of the release.

Without incorporating any gimmicks, Humangled put together a fantastic straight forward Death Metal album that will appeal to all ages and degrees of the metal spectrum. Fractal winds up being a very impressive "every day" Death Metal album that doesn't manage to become monotonous or repetitive in any way, with only the closing song really causing a loss among listeners due to it's conflicting sound with the rest of the album, and how much is going on musically that will leave listeners trying to figure out exactly what is going on. Tag this issue atop some effects and ideas that simply did not need to be used, such as wailing and background effects, and a guitar solo that feels like it was performed either while drunk, or by an amateur, and you're still looking at a highly impressive album that is worth checking out the next time you have a chance, and shows that Humangled is a band to keep your eye on.

Eternal Helcaraxe is an Irish Black Metal band formed in 2003, which after two years of silence following their first demo entitled “The Pale Kingdom”, released in 2008, decided to unleash this five-track EP called “To Whatever End”… The music on this EP could be labeled as a Pagan and melodic form of Black Metal with great emphasis in epic atmospheres of war and fury, where the powerful guitar riffs in unholy communion with a devastating drum work creates mid to fast paced structures that leads the music during the 29 minutes this work lasts. The wise inclusion of keyboards into the music results in an interesting improvement to the whole epic feeling of this EP, never abusing of its subtle sound as many Metal bands actually do, in fact the keyboard work of Praetorian seems intelligently performed to never opaque the heavy metallic sound of this work. At this EP you can also find several acoustic accompaniments, but as with the keyboard work, these elements sound just an interesting complement, never interfering with the reigning evil aura if this EP. The vocals here are one of the grimmest elements of the entire work, consisting in mid tone furious trollish voices (vaguely reminisced to the particular vocal style of Abbath from Immortal), enormously contributes with a more severe old school Black Metal sound, adding a straighter and obscurer dimension to the yet obscure formula… Eternal Helcaraxe shows here a very interesting, powerful and epic work that I would definitely recommend for anyone into the Epic Black Metal sound; “To Whatever End” is the kind of release that won’t leave you indifferent… The band is actually working in a new album entitled “Against All Odds”, which will be released under Abyss Records in the near future… so be aware. (AP)